A data storage system typically includes one or more storage controllers (also referred to herein as controllers) coupled one or more data storage devices, such as hard disk drives (HDDs). The controller receives read and write requests from one or more hosts, processes the requests and, in response reads the requested data from or writes (records) data to the storage device. Larger storage systems enable one physical host to be divided into one or more logical partitions (LPARs) which operate as separate computers. The LPARs may also run under different operating systems and may execute different application programs. During the initial program load (IPL) of the LPAR, logical paths are established between the host and the storage controller. Worldwide network node numbers (WWNN) are used to enable links between the communicating devices.